The Shannara Chronicles

A review of the new MTV series by Amber Geislinger

I was born a lover of all things possessing pointed ears. Bunnies were my first favorite animal, and cats have been my companions. (We only have six.) I watched reruns of Star Trek with mama; I had plans to marry Spock. So, it was natural in my prepubescent gawkiness to pick up Terry Brooks. His original Shannara series has influenced my love of reading, choice of profession, and own imaginings of elves.

I started Brooks’ series with The Elfstones of Shannara, skipping over The Sword Shannara simply because there was a pretty elf on the front of The Elfstones of Shannara. As it turned out, in that particular book, the female protagonist’s name is Amberle. Now, there is a prequel to the original trilogy, and over twenty books in the entire sage.

Terry Brooks’ paracosm of elves and other fantastical beings, is brought to life this year by MTV. YES. MTV. I guess they’ve wised up to the fact that reality TV killed the radio star. The adaption, The Shannara Chronicles, is spectacular, and the main actors are cast well. However, there was some squabbling about casting online. But haters gonna hate. Amberle and Eretria couldn’t have been cast better, as well as the character of Wil.

When I was a little girl reading Terry Brooks’ Shannara chronicles, I never realized that his magical land of Shannara was really just post-apocalyptic Earth. I simply didn’t pick up on inferences to the looming Cold War, as was born a bit too late into the last century. Today, Brooks’ Shannara is more post-apocalyptic in regards to environmental issues, such as global warning.

A neat spin on mythological beings that The Shannara Chronicles emphasizes is the various strains of human due to a nuclear holocaust. Every other type of creature, from gnome to troll, is a mutation of human. The exception is, of course, the elves. The elves are still ever graceful, yet share a mortal life span. Thus, human and elf pairings are very probable in the Shannara mythos. So, if that’s yo thang….

Terry Brooks’ mythos involves epochs of his world. It’s a historical saga if you read it in its entirety. There’s not just a prequel, but now a prequel trilogy. I, personally, don’t care for the apocalyptic genre. But you don’t have to read the apocalyptic prequels. What I love about Brook’s magical land is that you can pick up any piece of the entire saga. You don’t have to start with prequels, or read every spin-off of the original trilogy.

The Shannara Chronicles has completed its first season. I eagerly await the second season. And, yes, it has a decent soundtrack. The most exciting part of being a fan is Terry Brooks and the directors tweeting with me! Terry Brooks knows I exist.

Amber Geislinger is an introvert with an Internet social life. Mrs. Geislinger lives with her hubby and cats in Alabama. Dr. Geislinger is a physicist who raises the IQ of their general area. Mrs. Geislinger is an English teacher and YouTuber. Her channel, Southern Belle Humanism, features new authors and artists, but also exposes domestic adoption trafficking and other human rights violations.